Reducing Carbon Footprints and Increasing Resource Efficiency in SMEs

Resource efficiency forms the backbone of a sustainable economy. It enables companies to produce with less resource input, thus conserving natural resources and reducing environmental impacts, including emissions of greenhouse gases. Economically speaking, resource efficiency also reduces production cost. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in emerging economies and developing countries, not only for their contribution to economic growth, job creation and poverty alleviation, but also in environmental terms. On this basis, the provision of support to SMEs to improve resource efficiency and reduce carbon footprints is a key challenge in the mitigation of climate change.

Focusing on small- and medium-sized enterprises

As drivers of economic growth in emerging economies and developing countries, SMEs have far-reaching potential to pave the way for sustainable patterns of consumption and production. The “Carbon Footprints of SMEs in Development Countries and Emerging Markets” project aimed at providing training support for SMEs to optimise this potential. Best practice examples were shared among SME participants to foster the replication of sustainable consumption and production strategies. The SMEs partners within this project were suppliers to multinational companies active within global value chains. As a pilot case the project focused on Mexican automotive sector SMEs.

Interconnecting training modules and the strategy for implementation 

Three interconnected training modules were developed to support SMEs in increasing resource efficiency and reducing carbon footprints while at the same time enhancing profitability and competitiveness. A strategy paper was drafted to documents key lessons learned from existing practices and outlines dissemination strategies, recommendations for donor agencies and information on how to integrate the results into relevant international processes. The paper is based on experiences from the development and testing of a training module on climate-friendly and resource-efficient production. Additional modules were developed to build capacity for creating climate-friendly and resource-efficient supply chains and information on this issue was integrated within the strategy paper.

The project was part of the CSCP priority to Encourage Responsible Industrial Development. The project was carried out with the financial assistance of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and was implemented in collaboration with PREMAnet e.V. and local consultants in Mexico.